Here in Chicagoland, we don't let a little snow or cold keep us from our beer.

Look at the success of the Naperville Ale Fest — Winter Edition. Feb. 24 marks the fifth anniversary of the winter edition of the craft beer festival, which also has a summer edition.

This year's fest runs from 12-4 p.m. at Frontier Park in Naperville.

Josh Seago, president of Ale Fest presenter Lou Dog Events, isn't surprised the festival has made it to five years.

"We've seen the popularity of craft beers continue to increase and there are new craft breweries opening and every day there are new people being introduced to it," he said. "We feel that the demand is just as strong today as it was three or four years ago."

Each year they like to add something new to the event and this year's no different, he said.

"This year we are adding a cask tent," he said. "We have four specialty cask beers that are being created for this fest. We also have a beer bike. It looks like one of those old-fashioned ice cream bikes. We load it up with beer and it travels around the festival and pour three-ounce samples out of the beer bike."

In addition to the two new attractions, he said they plan on expanding on what has worked in the past.

"We will bring in 10 food trucks, so we have a nice selection of food trucks out there," he said. "We have an infusion tent where we bring in four beers and infuse them with specialty winter recipes. And we also do a hot hard cider tent, where we take a hard cider from 2 Fools Cider here in Naperville and we warm it up and put cinnamon in it. After being outside it's a nice touch."

The Infusion tent will feature beers poured through infusion machines filled with fresh fruit, chocolate, coffee and other ingredients.

There are fire pits on the grounds as well for people to warm up by.

There will be more than 150 beers for people to sample. Each sample is three ounces — the perfect way to find a new favorite beer, he said.

"Beers change with the seasons so the beers you see in the winter are completely different than what you see in the spring and summer," he said. "Most of the beer festivals — probably 95 percent of the beer festivals in the area — take place in June, July and August.

"So you're seeing a lot of those summer beers — the IPAs, the pale ales, the shandies — those really crisp, light beers you want to drink in the summer. But the beers are completely different in the winter. So at this festival, you'll a lot of darker beers — stouts and porters and barley wines — those heartier beers you want to drink when it's cold, as opposed to the crisp, refreshing beers."

If you don't like dark beers, don't fret — there will be plenty of IPAs, pale ales and wheat beers.

"We just make sure to bring a lot of those beers that aren't available in the summer to this one," he said.

Breweries such as Solemn Oath Brewery, Pollyanna Brewing Company, Soundgrowler Brewery, Half Acre Beer Company and Founders Brewing Company will be represented; as well as cideries such as 2 Fools Cider, Right Bee Cider and Virtue Cider.

Hot chocolate and coffee from Two Brothers Roasters will be available for purchase as well.

"There's a little bit of everything," Seago said. "We definitely have the food component. We try to bring in food trucks that do a little bit more high-end gourmet food. We specifically pick a little higher-end food that pairs really well with the beer."

There won't be live music at this festival — it's just too hard to keep the band and instruments and equipment warm, he said.

"We've tried to do live music in the past and in February the weather is so unpredictable," he said. "The only thing we know is that it is going to be either cold or really cold. So it gets difficult for the bands to come out and play."

What they have found is that people have cabin fever by this point in the winter, he said.

"People have been cooped up in the house," he said. "They are looking to get outside and do something different and something unique. This is — there's nothing else out there like it. It's a nice change of pace."

Last year there were 4,800 people in attendance, he said. Gates open at 11:30 a.m. to let people in. Dress for the weather — it can get cold in February, he advised.

A portion of the proceeds from the Naperville Winter Ale Fest will go towards the Naperville Parks Foundation.